The immigrant perspective: Eastern-European parental discourses about the value of French, plurilingualism and plurilingual literacy practices

ABSTRACT

Parental involvement is a crucial, but often, neglected factor for success in learning languages. A growing number of Canadian students from immigrant families attend French Immersion programs and bring additional languages to the classroom. Yet, the role of Eastern-European immigrant parents in their children’s French Immersion education, their beliefs about speaking multiple languages, and developing literacy practices at home across multiple languages are under-researched. Rooted in a plurilingual framework to examine parental beliefs and practices, this paper uses critical discourse analysis to present data collected via interviews and journals. The data show that immigrant parents demonstrate awareness and a rich variety of beliefs about their children’s plurilingual learning; they value French for instrumental reasons; and offer individual solutions for plurilingual literacy development. Implications for educators include valuing parental ‘funds of knowledge’ and acknowledging how neoliberal educational policies widen the gap between plurilingual homes and bilingual classrooms.

KEYWORDS:

• French Immersion
• parental involvement
• plurilingualism
• discourses
• plurilingual literacy practices
• immigrant parents

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Immigrant parents are defined in this paper as those who were born and attended elementary and secondary schools outside of Canada.

2 We acknowledge the linguistic diversity of participants coming from nine different EE countries, but their common post-socialist experiences of everyday life and education make them a coherent group for analysis (Perry 2013).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mimi Masson

Mimi Masson is a Professor - Long-term appointment in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa.

Marina Antony-Newman

Marina Antony-Newman is a doctoral student at the UCL Institute of Education.

Max Antony-Newman

Max Antony-Newman is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) at the Sheffield Hallam University Institute of Education.